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What was the last electronic device you broke?


In writing 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer I collected a lot of broken electronics to make projects with. However, the ones I had the most fun re-purposing were the ones I had broken myself. This is not say I enjoy breaking my electronics, but rather, I enjoyed finding new uses for the devices that I had grown rather fond of using. The last such thing I have that died on me was the digital camera I used to document all of the projects I made in the book (it survived over 20,000 photos before I dropped it for the last time). It's currently in pieces on my work bench while I try to figure out what to do with it.

I'm wondering, what is the last thing you have that died? What do you plan on doing with it?



deadCam.jpg
59 comments
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Apr 28, 2011. 9:08 AMjeff-o says:
The kit lens from my Nikon D40. Now replaced with a shiny-fast Sigma lens.

What to do with the old lens? I'm not sure. Put it on eBay, maybe? I think one of the lenses got knocked out of whack, none of them are broken.
Apr 23, 2011. 5:13 PMonrust says:
If I tell you, I'm likely to do it again!
Apr 22, 2011. 9:48 AMpatriots8888 says:
an electronic heavy duty pencil sharpener ( not heavy duty enough for me! :))
Apr 20, 2011. 9:12 AMElvenChild says:
My brain
Feb 13, 2010. 11:38 AMstephenniall says:
Im pretty sure i broke the instructables Robot !
Apr 20, 2011. 9:10 AMElvenChild says:
nýJsorry I did not realize japanese text was still on, what I meant to say is NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Dec 8, 2010. 5:50 PMGoodhart says:
Just recently.....another digital camera.....they seem to wear out fairly fast for me....the lens gettnig stuck part way out (or in, depending on which way it was going at the time it freezed up)
Feb 11, 2010. 4:08 PMtimothymh says:
 ... Maybe... Oh yeah! a Polaroid camera! (I wrote "Out of Order" on the other end of the viewfinder, so when you look through, it is superimposed on the view! I plan to make an instructable on something relating to this)
Dec 8, 2010. 5:49 PMGoodhart says:
I have a few old cheapo cameras I want to start "working on" one of these days....
Feb 24, 2010. 2:18 PMfender-electric-guitar says:
yea i have a polaroid 620 and they don't sell film and it was really expensive!when they did
Feb 11, 2010. 6:50 PMtimothymh says:
 Or better yet, Polaroid film that also has a reusable slide and SD card in one. That doesn't make sense. You reuse the same Polaroid-shaped thing again and again. It is a digital picture frame so you see the pic when it comes out. you pass it around, put it back in your camera. When you take all the pics you want, you put the photos on you computer with the SD card (or better yet microSD or XD 'cause they're smaller).
Feb 13, 2010. 10:40 AMtimothymh says:
 Come on... the best photography idea ever and 0 replies? :)
Feb 14, 2010. 6:17 AMkcls says:
Wow! What a great Idea!
There, are you happy?
Feb 14, 2010. 7:46 AMtimothymh says:
Yeah. ;-) ([singing] "It was a joke! I'm sorry.")
Feb 11, 2010. 6:21 PMkillerjackalope says:
I thought polarid film could still be found, if hunted out.

Shame, polaroid always seemed like a good thing to me, still more instant than digital...
Feb 13, 2010. 9:16 AMaceLED says:
yea i was actually cleaning out my dads old work space and found a little baggy that looked like a poptart   wrapper  so out of curiosity i opened it up ...and ruined the film
Feb 13, 2010. 10:39 AMtimothymh says:
 oops. You can tell; it doesn't say, "Hey, we're wearing the same hat!" on it next to a little cartoon. :)
Feb 11, 2010. 6:46 PMtimothymh says:
 Yes, it can, but the camera lens was broken. The viewfinder still worked.
Feb 11, 2010. 6:51 PMkillerjackalope says:
Oh got ya now... I did like the little viewfinder joke though...
Feb 11, 2010. 6:53 PMtimothymh says:
 Thanx. I've done that sort of thing with a bunch of broken stuff... gonna make a whole museum :P
Feb 11, 2010. 6:57 PMkillerjackalope says:
Cool, could make for a nice photo gallery...
Dec 8, 2010. 11:59 AMfuture-tinker says:
My soldering iron, I stupidly left it on over night, but being a member of instructables, I will try to fix it.
Mar 3, 2010. 1:56 AMKryptonite says:
My mum's grpahics card... oops.
Jun 19, 2010. 9:44 AMzack247 says:
how mad was she when she found out?
Jun 22, 2010. 7:00 AMKryptonite says:
She knew it was an accident, so all was cool.
Jun 22, 2010. 7:05 AMzascecs says:
...was it...? ;p
Jun 23, 2010. 6:09 AMKryptonite says:
Luckily for me; yes.
Jun 19, 2010. 9:47 AMzascecs says:
It just so happens that I break a lot of things, that aren't electronic...
Feb 23, 2010. 5:04 PMstruckbyanarrow says:
i broke my friends already broken iphone by throwing it on the ground!
Jun 19, 2010. 9:46 AMzack247 says:
man, the thing was broken the second it was taken out of the box. apples products are so useless
Jun 19, 2010. 9:43 AMzack247 says:
even though it was on purpose... a LG160. first i shot it with a airsoft gun, rendering the screens broken and useless. the next day, me and some friends played some lacrosse with it. then one of my friends broke his bike lock by trying to break the phone with it, then we shoved half of the "U" trought the 2 screens. then we played some baseball. surprisingly, the phone still tried to turn on. then it got thrown at a wall. RIP.
Mar 20, 2010. 8:14 PMmichoi says:
a guitar amp that i had just put a new fuse and a new holder when suddenly the speaker blows lol
Mar 16, 2010. 9:07 AMfloryzzz says:
 my gleu gun 2009
Mar 7, 2010. 2:26 PMadam 101 says:
the hardrive entered in this contest
Mar 5, 2010. 6:54 AMPlasmana says:
My Dad's digital camera, I dropped it and it has this funny grinding noise from the gears when I try zoom on and out... Whoops..
Mar 2, 2010. 10:20 PMsensoryhouse says:
 An iPod.
Feb 28, 2010. 8:35 PMenforcer72 says:
a dell 233st that had been upgraded the the biggest processor I could get (PII 400 mmc-1 socket), 256mb ram, 40gb hd. my daughter has been using it for 3 years to just get online and write homework papers. in that time it had went through 4 batteries, 2 wifi cards, and 3 power supplies. I told her a year ago, that if it gave problems again I was going to trash it. the battery would charge for a minute, then drop 2%.. kept crashing. I threw it across the room at the staircase and it broke in half, plastic and keys blew all over.

she's a senior in high school and Im buying her a new one this week out of tax refund.  Just means she gets it sooner rather than in june. 
Feb 25, 2010. 3:55 PMdjr6789 says:
i set my phone on fire and i still used it for a couple of weeks until i "dropped it" lool
Feb 11, 2010. 4:03 PMkillerjackalope says:
Last was a sony ericsson W980... Well backlight on the LCD went, the clamshell hinge was scuppered and other bits were dying... Plus it's out of warranty...
Feb 22, 2010. 9:10 PMmagiccowy says:
i just bought a W980 after breaking a slide phone. Damn things dont stay together, the cable connecting the screen and the phone wears out so fast on sliders
Feb 23, 2010. 4:11 AMkillerjackalope says:
Be warned, the W980 seems to have some random issues, though only later in life... Don't drop it too much and it should be fine, other than that it's a good phone.
Feb 13, 2010. 10:25 AMcj81499 says:
i never break stuff
Feb 16, 2010. 5:35 PMcrawlingdeadman says:
same here, they break all by themselves.
Feb 18, 2010. 5:38 AMbo3bo3 says:

As for me, it’s the broken stuff that inspires me… I do break things intentionally sometimes.

 
Feb 17, 2010. 6:17 AMcj81499 says:
no i mean nothing of mine has broke in any way
Feb 15, 2010. 11:53 PMn8man says:
 I almost broke my computer two days ago by spilling sprite in it (Yes, in, not on) when I had left it open and my dog decided to raid my room for food. Luckily nothing was fried so it is running nice and smoothly now.


Feb 17, 2010. 6:24 AMGoodhart says:
Ah but wait until that syrup congeals and shorts out your PSU! 

You'll have a whole new definition of:  SMOKIN !  
 
Feb 14, 2010. 9:35 AMihordyky says:
iphone

Feb 14, 2010. 6:48 PMihordyky says:
tried updating it
Feb 15, 2010. 6:09 AMihordyky says:
no I tried everything from calling apple and going to att. Im probably going to buy an ipod touch.
Feb 14, 2010. 6:49 PMihordyky says:
Oh and my coputer broke like a week later
Feb 14, 2010. 3:15 PMAtomman says:
 Handheld Game.
Feb 13, 2010. 11:17 AMmaster key says:
The last thing I broke is a CD-RW drive. I broke it today.
Feb 13, 2010. 9:13 AMaceLED says:
sadly the same camera i entered in this contest -.-
Feb 11, 2010. 7:51 PMSunbanks says:
My poor camera :P I don't think it was actually a physical problem, but it might have been, I have no idea.
Feb 11, 2010. 7:04 PMbumpus says:
I was tackled into an air-conditioning unit and cracked the screen on my phone..
Soooo I threw it into my car's glove-box, just in case.

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